The Forgotten War
by PandaChick105
Summary: Kumogakure plans to start a war with Konoha, and the fate of the leaf lies with a young girl...but she has forgotten everything about it. Can her memory be jogged before it's too late? LeeOC Side Pairing: NaruHina, there may be more pairings
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from it! So there!

Name: Tsuki Hana (I don't like the way her name sounds but I love the meaning, so please bear with me if you don't like it either)

Meaning: Moon Flower

Age: 14

Eye Color: Emerald Green

Hair Color: Bright Silver

Hair Length: Long

Height: 5'5 ½

Outfit (at the moment; she does wear different outfits): a baby pink and white coat, dark blue jeans, baby pink sandals and glasses

Personality: She's very caring and passionate. She's trustworthy, understanding, and is always willing to help or hear her friends out. She's very considerate and always puts others before herself. She's usually positive about everything and tries to cheer people up when their down. She's not normally one to hate or hold grudges and forgives people despite what they've done; which can be a weakness at times. She's also clumsy and becomes embarrassed easily. So to shorten all that up, she's basically a mio character. And I wasn't sure where to put this, but she's also got a beauty mark on the left side of her face; right on her cheekbone

"talking"

_'thoughts'_

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It was nightfall within the land of Lightning. The moon was full and the stars showered their bright little lights over the mountain surrounded village hidden in the clouds; Kumogakure. And in a nearby forest, a girl was walking peacefully down a dirt path; her name was Tsuki. She wasn't alone either; her dog, Cherry, accompanied her. Cherry was a 3 year old, white and dark ruby Siberian husky with brown eyes and a red bow on her left ear. As they walked together Tsuki glanced up at the sky

"Wow, tonight's really beautiful, wouldn't you agree Cherry?" asked Tsuki; smiling at her companion

Cherry gave a cheerful bark; Tsuki giggled

"Thought so," she said

Up ahead of the two a bush rustled and a squirrel ran into the middle of the path

Looking at the squirrel Tsuki said, "Aww! What a cute little squirrel!"

Cherry raised her ears and began inching closer to it

"Hey stop! You'll scare it away!" complained Tsuki

But she didn't listen, and just as she said the squirrel took one look at the curious husky and ran. Cherry gave a loud bark and high-tailed after it

"H-Hey! Where are you going? Come back!" yelled Tsuki as she ran after her, "Cherry! Stop!"

xxxxx time skip xxxxx

An hour had passed since Cherry ran off, and Tsuki had lost sight of her not too long after

"Cherry!" she shouted, "Cherry! Oh where could she have gone?"

She continued to search for her; eventually winding up into a clearing. There was a river that streamed along down a path, and pouring into it was a large waterfall that sparkled and shimmered under the light of the night sky

"Wow, it's so pretty," she said; completely awed, "Hmm? Wait what's that?"

Looking closely at the waterfall she noticed a dark shadow behind the roaring water

'_A shadow? But that doesn't seem right, there's supposed to be just rock behind there'_ she thought

The shadow slowly disappeared; which made Tsuki even more suspicious. She thought for a minute

'_Maybe I should investigate'_ she thought again

She started walking towards the waterfall, then stopped herself suddenly

"W-Wait! What am I doing? I need to find Cherry! Yea, and besides, I shouldn't go snooping around. I'll just get in trouble," she told herself

She turned around and began walking away

She stopped again and looked back at the waterfall

"But...then again...that shadow could have been Cherry..." she said thoughtfully

She sighed

"I hope I don't regret this later," she said turning back around

She ran up to the waterfall and looked at it. She lifted her hand and slowly reached past it; she was expecting to feel a rock, but instead felt nothing but cold air. She made a small gasp, then after a little hesitation she walked past the waterfall. Completely soaked, she looked around; shocked at what she was seeing. There was a long, dark tunnel that seemed to lead downward somewhere. This sent chills down her spine, but she walked down it anyway; softly calling Cherry's name along the way. The tunnel continued to go deeper and deeper underground. It eventually became so cold that she would've been able to see her own breath; if she could really see at all. She rubbed her arms and shivered; even with her coat on

"I-It's s-s-so c-c-cold d-d-d-down h-h-h-here," she stuttered; teeth chattering, "I-Ill g-g-get s-s-sick a-a-at t-t-this r-r-rate,"

She stopped at her last words; she frowned heavily

'_Hmph, that'll be the day'_ she thought

She made it half-way into the tunnel when she saw that it branched out into two tunnels. She heard groaning coming from the tunnel on the right and decided to go down the left tunnel just in case there was something she didn't want to see down the other way. Walking down the tunnel a few minutes more she suddenly sees a light at ahead of her. Running to the light she comes to a stop in front of a closed door

"A door?" she whispered

As she got closer she could hear boasted laughter from inside; from the sound of it there were a lot of men in there

"Huh? I didn't know people actually came down here," she whispered again; listening in

"Hahaha! This plan is ingenious! Those stupid leaf ninja won't know what hit them!" shouted one man

"And it's all thanks to our brilliant leader!" shouted another as everyone cheered

"Now now, don't thank me men. Thank our newest weapon! Because with him at our side, nobody will be able to stop us once we take action! We'll destroy Konoha and it's pathetic Hokage and rule with an iron fist! We'll be invincible! Kumogakure will finally take it's place as the strongest nation in the world!" exclaimed another

The men all cheered once more; Tsuki couldn't believe what she was hearing

"Eh?!" she said with pure disbelief; quite loudly

She covered her mouth; wishing she hadn't done that

_'Uh oh. I hope they didn't hear that' _she thought

"What was that?" asked one man

_'Just my luck. They heard me' _she thought again; regretting that she ever set foot behind the waterfall

"I think we have an intruder!" exclaimed another

"Go and check! If there is one then make sure they don't escape!" said another

'_Oh no!'_ Tsuki thought

She flew back around and ran as fast as she could back up the tunnel; the door opened behind her

"Hey you!" shouted a man

"Get back here!" shouted another

They both began chasing after her

'_Oh no! This is bad! Real bad! If they catch me I'm done for!'_ she thought again

Still running Tsuki suddenly heard a low growling sound coming from the extra tunnel she saw earlier

"Huh? What the?!" exclaimed the first man

"Ahh!!" exclaimed the other

Tsuki stopped and turned around to see what was going on; there was something attacking both men

"You stupid mutt!" yelled the first man

'_Stupid mutt?'_ wondered Tsuki

They both continued their screams until finally the creature brought both of them onto the ground; they both groaned in pain. Whatever it was that attacked them then looked over at Tsuki; she froze

"Ch-Cherry? Is that you?" she asked

The creature gave a loud bark and pounced on Tsuki; it was indeed Cherry

"I found you! God I was so worried about you! Don't run off like that ever again!" she said; giving her a big hug

Cherry gave her a happy bark and licked her face; she giggled

"Hurry! Over here!" shouted a man; ruining the moment

"Oh no! Cherry we gotta go!" exclaimed Tsuki

Getting Cherry off of her and standing up she ran for the exit with Cherry running beside her

"No you don't! You're not getting away!" he shouted

The man swung around a ball and chain and threw the end at Tsuki. Despite the distance it caught her and the chain surrounded her making her fall to the ground

"Gotcha!" he said and began pulling her towards him

Tsuki struggled helplessly while Cherry whined and began biting the chain; but it was no use. Her teeth couldn't bite through metal

"It's no use, I'm trapped. Go on without me! Run while you still can!" exclaimed Tsuki

Cherry whined again; signaling that she didn't want to go

"Don't worry about me! Just go!" she told her, "Please Cherry!"

"You're not going anywhere!" said the man as he pulled her the rest of the way

He tried to grab Cherry but she managed to dodge him

"Go! NOW!" shouted Tsuki again

She didn't want to leave her, but even so she obeyed her master and fled from the tunnel. The man made no effort to go after her

"Ah whatever, it's just a stupid dog anyway," he said, "And besides, I caught myself something much more interesting."

Cherry couldn't stand the thought of Tsuki being captured, but she continued to run like she was told. And it wasn't until she was all the way back in the village when she finally stopped. She looked up at the moon; her eyes full of sorrow. Then she gave a long, sad howl to the moon

"What on earth is going on out there?" asked a voice suddenly

Cherry looked at the person; it was an elderly woman in a nightgown standing in front of a home that looked to be built into the mountains that surrounded the village

"Cherry? Is that you? My goodness do you know what time it is? Where is your owner?" the woman asked walking up to Cherry

She just sat there; the old woman sighed

"Oh dear, you both probably got separated again. Well I'm sure she'll come back to the village like always. Come now, lets get you inside and we'll wait for her return," she said as she walked back into her house

As Cherry followed her she glanced up at the moon again; hoping that she was right

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Author's Notes:

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! It was basically an introduction for my OC and for the plot, but in the next chapter I'll have a certain "youthful" team make an appearance. So look forward to it! And thanks for reading! You rock! *throws you two thumbs up*


	2. Chapter 2: AN

Hey everyone! I haven't forgotten about my story and I apologize for not posting the next chapter yet. Lately I've been having trouble with school. I'm failing my algebra 2 class and my mom is NOT happy. So I can't get on the computer much anymore until I have at least a C again. Rest assured that I have been working on the chapter while I can, and hopefully I'll have it posted before the end of this month (or less). So look forward to it! 


	3. Chapter 2: The real one!

Ok, I looked over this chapter and realized that there were some mistakes in it. And to be honest grammatical errors bug me a lot, so I fixed them. Or at least the ones I spotted, so if I missed anything please let me know. Also I would like to thank Tenshi-san for all your help and support with the story! You're an awesome friend! And thank you to the people who voted and gave me over 26 hits! I really appreciate it! Enjoy the chapter!

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Enter Team Gai

Back over in Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves, a familiar young boy was out in the middle of the forest training. He had shiny black hair shaped like a bowl, round black eyes, thick black eyebrows and he wore a green jumpsuit, orange leg warmers, blue ninja sandals and a red hitai-ate around his waist; his name was Rock Lee. He was repeatedly kicking a wooden post; leaving a large dent where his kicks landed

"If I can not do 200 kicks with each leg then I shall do 500 punches with each arm!" he said with solid determination in his voice

Suddenly the bushes to his left rustled, he stopped in mid-kick and turned towards them; getting into his fighting stance

"Who is there? Show yourself!" he shouted

"Relax Lee, it's only us," replied a voice

Three people came into view, and they were none other than Tenten, Neji and Gai

"Oh! Hello fellow teammates! Have you come to join me in training?" asked Lee

"As 'exciting' as that sounds, no. We came here to get you," was the reply of a sarcastic Neji

"Get me?" questioned Lee

"That's right Lee! You see the Hokage has requested us for a very important mission!" explained Gai

A big smile spread across the green shinobi's face; making his teeth shine in the sunlight

"That is most excellent! I have been dying for a chance to see if my training has paid off!" he explained with a few punches to the air

"That's the spirit Lee! Let the power of youth explode from within you!" said Gai placing a hand on Lee's shoulder

"Yes Gai-sensei!" exclaimed Lee

Tears ran down Gai's face

"*sniff* Oh Lee! You make me so proud!" he said

Tears began running down Lee's face too

"Gai-sensei *sniff*" he said

"Lee!" exclaimed Gai

"Gai-sensei!" exclaimed Lee right back

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

They spread their arms wide and embraced each other as the background was suddenly replaced by a sunset and a huge wave crashing against the "rock" they were standing on. Tenten groaned and shook her head

"Um guys, I'd hate to interrupt. But can we please just go already?" she complained

The sunset scene shattered and disappeared as Lee and Gai broke their embrace and faced her

"Ahem! Right! Lets move! Don't want to keep the Hokage waiting!" said Gai

Tenten sighed

"Yes sir!" replied an eager Lee

Then Gai took off in a hot sprint with Lee right behind him

"Wha-?! H-Hey! Wait up you guys!" shouted a surprised Tenten

Her and Neji ran after them; struggling to catch up with them and their insane speed. After a few minutes Gai and Lee arrived in front of the Hokage's office, and not too long after that Tenten and Neji arrived as well

"Jeez! Don't go running off like that!" scolded Tenten as she bent over to catch her breath

Lee faced her

"Tenten-chan, you are not training enough if you are already out of breath," he said to her

"What?! Well how about I get some in by knocking you upside that bowled head of yours?!" she threatened

Not wanting to face her ferocity, Lee turned away and faced the door

"Uh r-right! Let us see what our mission is," he said

Team Gai entered the Hokage tower and Gai knocked on the door to the office after exchanging a loud hello to the secretary next to the door

"Come in," came a muffled, elderly man's voice

They walked in to find Sarutobi sitting behind desk with what looked like tons of paperwork in front of him

"You called me and my youthful Genin for a mission Hokage-sama?" asked Gai

"Ah, yes I did," responded Sarutobi, "You see, lately the village Kumogakure has been acting rather strangely. And I'm not quite sure what it is, but I have reason to believe that they may be planning something…something terrible…"

"And just what would that be?" asked Gai

"As I said before, I am not sure. So in hopes of getting more information, I sent one of the ninja there on a mission. However….he never returned," explained Sarutobi; his voice completely serious

This shocked them; although Neji didn't seem too surprised

"What?! What do you mean he never returned? Was he killed?" questioned Tenten

Sarutobi frowned heavily

"I don't know, so I sent another ninja to find and confirm whether he was dead or not. But then it happened again…and that ninja did not return either," he explained some more

"That is very strange," said Lee

Sarutobi nodded

"After that I became even more suspicious, and, against my better judgment, I sent one more ninja. And as you can guess, he did not return. That confirmed my suspicion that Kumogakure was planning something, and now I am even more determined to find out what it is," he told them

"So our mission is to find the previous ninja, confirm whether they're alive or not, and gather information about Kumogakure," said Neji

"That is right. I want you three to go to and around Kumogakure and search for the missing ninja as well as try to find out what they are planning. However you are not allowed to attack the cloud ninja unless they attack you first" confirmed Sarutobi

'_Cloud scum, I'll be sure to make them suffer for what they did to me'_ thought Neji bitterly as he scowled

"Now any questions or concerns any of you would like to share?" asked Sarutobi

"No Hokage-sama!" was his response from Team Gai

"Very well, you shall depart on your mission tomorrow morning. The best of luck to you all," said Sarutobi; smiling at the end of his sentence

Gai faced the Genin

"Alright everybody! We have our mission! So we'll meet up at the village gate at 7 am sharp! If you're late you'll have to go to Kumogakure on your hands!" he said

"Yes sir!" replied Lee

"What?! That's totally crazy! Are you thinking before you speak?!" scolded Tenten

"Let's go!" Gai said; completely ignoring her

Gai and Lee left in a big hurry as Tenten just groaned and Neji looked annoyed

"Man, sometimes I swear…" was her last comment before her and Neji left

Sarutobi chuckled to himself before returning to his paperwork

xxxxx the next morning: 6:59 am xxxxx

Lee and Gai were standing in front of the village gate; all packed and ready to go

"I wonder where Neji-kun and Tenten-chan are, it is almost 7," wondered Lee

"Hey! You guys!" shouted Tenten off from a distance

She and Neji were both spotted as they ran up to them

"Ah! You both made it just in time!" cheered Lee

"*sigh* thank goodness," replied Tenten; relieved that she won't have to do a handstand to Kumogakure

"Ok! Now that were all here, lets head on out! Youth at full power!" shouted Gai

"Yes Gai-sensei!" said Lee; saluting him

They both took off in a full sprint again, except this time with Tenten and Neji close behind them

'_I wonder what awaits us in Kumogakure, I am certain it will prove to be most difficult. But even so, Hokage-sama is counting on us! So we can not afford failure!'_ thought Lee, _'Yosh! We shall prevail!'_

And with that began Team Gai's journey to the Land of Lightning. Not knowing that their future was about to be drastically changed

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And there you have it! I hope I portrayed everyone correctly (v!T T)


	4. Chapter 3

Okay! Here it is! My third chapter, I hope you like it. And again I hope no one is OOC. Now before you start, I need to give thanks to some reviewers!

To ChinaDang - Arigato! I'm really happy you love it! And fear not, you'll find out very soon what happens to Tsuki. I'm sure you'll know after this chapter =)

To UnagiKeki - whoa really? Yay! I'm glad! Well, I mean, not about the eyeball bleeding part lol and I agree! Hooray for Lee! Also, you'll see what happens, I've got a lot planned. And I appreciate the advice, I will definitely take it!

To Tenshi Namikaze - Supportive as always senpai! Arigato! I still can't believe you couldn't find anything wrong with my chappie lol I hope my story does go far, and you're always helpful!

That's all! I hope I get more awesome reviewers like you! And now, onto the next part!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO** (but I wish I did, then Lee would be all mine *drools*)

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After what seemed like an eternity of nothing but forest, they finally arrived in Kumogakure

"Hmph, one day. We got here faster than expected," said Neji

"That's because we ran non-stop! Gai-sensei can we please take a break?" complained Tenten; huffing and puffing

Lee faced her yet again

"Tenten-chan, you are not-" he came to an abrupt halt in his speech when Tenten jerked her head at him; shooting him a glare of death

"What was that Lee-san? I'm not what now?" she asked him

Lee mentally sweatdropped

"A-Ano, it is not important anymore..." he responded weakly

Her scary glare turned into a sweet smile

"Well alright then," she said

"Alright you two, knock it off," said Gai

"Gai-sensei is right, we are here on an important mission. So both of you need to get your acts together and stop fooling around," scolded Neji as he began walking forward

This slightly startled everyone; Neji was usually the more content of the 4. Neji noticed their awkward pause and turned his head to look at them

"Well? Are you coming or will I have to complete this mission myself?" he asked; every ounce of patience gone from his voice

"R-Right! Let's go team!" exploded Gai

"Hai Gai-sensei!" saluted Lee

Lee and Gai strode forward past Neji; leaving him and Tenten to follow from behind. And with that they began their stroll through the village. As they looked around they noticed people slamming their doors and windows shut

"From the looks of it, getting information will be hard..." said Tenten

Another door slammed

"Very hard..." she finished

A small smirk found its way to Neji's lips

"_You can't hide from me for long cowards,"_ he thought

Suddenly a barking sound could be heard as a dog was spotted running towards them. And that dog was none other than Cherry; Tenten jumped back

"Ack! It's gonna attack us!" she shouted

Everyone went on guard; completely prepared for whatever Cherry had planned to do. Or so they thought, because instead of attacking she skidded to a stop in front of them

"Woof!" she greeted as she wagged her tail

This threw everyone off a little

"Well, so much for that. At least something's glad to see us..." said Tenten; sighing

Lee smiled and kneeled down; petting her head

"Well hello there little buddy," he said

Cherry returned his smile and began licking his face; he chuckled

"I wonder where its owner is..." wondered Gai out loud

At this Cherry stopped her licking and sat down; giving a quiet whine

"Huh? What's the matter boy?" asked Lee; growing concern for his new canine friend

"Lee-san! That's a girl, not a boy!' scolded Tenten

"How can you tell?" questioned the oblivious green shinobi as he stood back up

The rest of their conversation was blocked out as the dreadful memory from over a month ago came back to haunt Cherry. She remembered the horrible pain she felt when she couldn't do much to help her master escape, and how she felt even worse when she was forced to abandon her. If only she hadn't followed that damn squirrel down the tunnel, Tsuki would've been at home right now safe and sound. She lowered her head a little and shook it; not wanting to think about it anymore. And that's when she saw it; that spark of hope that she had been wishing for since the tragedy. It was the hitai-ate tied around Lee's waist; it told her that he was a ninja. And, to her, it was no doubt a ninja that could help her set Tsuki free. Now with her mind set and her determination as high as ever, she initiated phase one of her rescue mission. She ran a few feet forward, then stopped and turned around; barking to grab everyone's attention

"Hmm? What is it girl?" asked Lee

Cherry gave another bark and nodded her head in the direction behind her

"I think she's wants us to follow her...maybe to her owner? Hmm..." he wondered out loud

Cherry wagged her tail; Lee didn't know just how right he was. Neji scoffed

"We do not have time for that. It will be dark very soon and we need to find shelter," he explained

"But if she led us to her owner then maybe they'd be kind enough to give us a place to stay for the night," proposed Gai

"Have you forgotten sensei? The people in this village aren't too fond of Leaf ninja, therefore following her would be a waste of time," was the stoic Hyuga's response

"He has a point Gai-sensei..." said Tenten; obviously tired

Gai placed his hands on his hips and gave the Genin a smirk

"Well we'll never know unless we try won't we? I say we give it a shot! And if you turn out to be right...." he started

He clenched his fist and threw it into the air

"Then I shall do 50 laps around this entire village! This I swear!" he shouted; a fire burning viciously in his eyes, no, on his whole body

Neji and Tenten froze for second; from slight shock and from the ringing in their ears

"Gai-sensei! Shush! It's late and you're too loud!" scolded Tenten

Neji rubbed his temples

"_Why oh why did I get assigned to this team? I'll bet even Naruto isn't this annoying..."_ he thought; trying to remain as content as possible

"Say um, guys?" asked Tenten suddenly

"What?" responded both males simultaneously

"Where's Lee-san?" asked a now worried Tenten

Gai and Neji gasped as they looked around to find that Lee was gone

"Where did that boy go?!" asked Gai; becoming very tense

"And how did he slip away so quietly?" asked Neji; his agitation rising again

Gai's eyes began to water at thought of Lee missing

"That doesn't matter now! Neji! Use your Byakugan and see if you can find him! I refuse to lose my star Genin!" demanded Gai; almost grabbing him

Neji glanced over to his right to avoid Gai's tearful gaze; his eyes catching something in the process

"That won't be necessary," he simply stated

"What do you mean Neji-kun?" asked Tenten

"He's way over there with the dog," explained Neji; pointing off into the distance to his right at Lee

Gai and Tenten followed the direction of his finger and both spotted Lee as well

"LEE!!" bursted Gai as he bolted towards him; Neji and Tenten right behind him

Meanwhile Lee was standing in front of door with Cherry by his side; he looked down at her

"Is this the home of your owner?" he asked her

"Woof!" she responded; no the person wasn't, but she was close enough to the title considering her real owner was being held prisoner at the moment

Lee smiled

"I shall take that as a yes," he said

He raised his fist up to the door, but just as he was about to knock he heard his name being called. He turned to find his team, more importantly Gai, charging towards him

"Oh, Gai-sensei! I-" he started to say, but was interrupted when Gai came up and punched Lee right in the face

He was sent spiraling to the ground

"Uuuhhhhhh...." he groaned

Gai yanked him up off the ground, only to shake him like a rag doll

"Kuso Lee! Don't go sneaking off like that ever again! Do you understand?!" exploded Gai with tears running down his face

Poor Lee couldn't really respond as his brain juggled around in his skull

"Gai-sensei! You're being too loud again!" scolded Tenten again

"But can't you see I was worried sick about him?! I thought he might've been Lee-napped!" retorted Gai; still shaking Lee

"S-Sensei! Stop! You're gonna snap his neck!" yelled Tenten as she tried to get Gai to stop shaking him; let alone release him

Cherry began to bark; wanting all the violence to stop. Neji began rubbing his temples again

"_Oh Kami, I don't how much more of this I can take..."_ he thought; reaching a whole new level of aggravation

"My word, just what on earth is going on out there?" asked a familiar voice

The same elderly woman from before opened up her door to investigate the ruckus going on outside of her home. At that moment everyone froze up in place and stared at her; she let out a small gasp at the scene. Gai's grip loosened and Lee slid right out of it like a worm and collapsed onto the ground; completely out of it. There was an awkward pause

"A-Ano..." squeaked Tenten; not sure how to explain the situation to the sudden senior citizen

xxxxx a few minutes later xxxxx

"Oh, I understand now. I feel bad for the boy though," said the elderly woman; giving a sympathetic smile

"He'll be alright, things like this always happen. However..." said Tenten

They were all inside of the old woman's house; sitting at a table in her living room. There was a tea kettle placed on a napkin in the middle of it, and everyone had filled cups their hands. Except for Lee, who was resting in another room with Cherry sitting right by his side. Tenten shot a look a Gai

"Sensei! You went way overboard this time!" she scolded

Gai took a sip of his tea

"I apologize, however I'm afraid I just couldn't help myself. The thought of Lee 'gone' made me extremely uneasy," he explained

Tenten sighed

"In any case, Lee-san shouldn't have wondered off like that. I told him that dog was no concern of ours," said Neji, _"Or at least I tried to..."_ he thought right after

"Ah yes, you mean Cherry," said the old woman

"That's her name huh? So then you must be her owner," said Tenten

The old woman's smile turned sad

"Actually, no. I'm just looking after her," she explained

"Looking after her?" asked Neji; cocking an eyebrow

The old woman nodded

"Well, what happened to the owner?" asked Tenten

The old woman paused before answering

"She disappeared," she gravely stated

Everyone's eyes widened

"Disappeared?" asked Tenten

"Sounds quite familiar," said another voice

They all turned to find Lee standing there with Cherry in his arms

"Lee-san! I didn't know you were awake," said Tenten

"How are you feeling?" asked the old woman

"Like I have been renewed by the power of youth! I am most grateful that you let me use a room," claimed Lee, "Arigato," he said right after; bowing to the old woman

"Oh it was no trouble at all dearie," she told him

He took a seat at the table; the old woman poured him a cup and handed it to him. He thanked her again and took a sip

"So what do you mean the owner disappeared?" he asked; quite curious

"Well, I remember seeing her and Cherry leave into the forest for a walk. After a few hours Cherry returned. However, Tsuki was not with her," explained the old woman

"Tsuki? Is that her name?" asked Tenten

The old woman nodded

"I thought that maybe her and Cherry got separated again, and so I figured that she would eventually return looking for her. But..." she paused

They all waited patiently for her continue; even Neji, despite the information being unimportant to him

"It has been well over a month now, and she still has yet to come back..." she continued; frowning heavily

Everyone's eyes widened; except for Neji's

"Over a month?!" exclaimed Lee; now he was really concerned

"That's such a long time..." breathed Tenten

She looked Cherry; who was now sulking in Lee's arms

"Poor thing, I can't imagine how horrible she must feel..." thought Tenten out loud

Lee looked down at Cherry and began to gently rub her head; she welcomed it greatly. Seeing her hurt like this made Lee's stomach grow tight with sadness. He had only met her today, however he already felt as if they were the best of friends. And like every friend, when they were in pain, he was in pain as well

"Cherry-san..." he whispered to himself

"Has anyone tried searching for her?" asked Gai; eyeing Lee

"Well, I wanted to look, but Cherry wouldn't let me set one foot out of this house. I don't blame her either, my old age has been getting the best of me lately and I'd only be putting myself in danger if I went out there. Even so...I still feel horrible for not even trying..." answered the old woman; gripping her cup harder

"Why didn't the villagers look for her?" asked Tenten

"Because....they refused to," explained the old woman

"What? Why?" demanded Lee

"Well you see, a majority of the villagers here are not fond of Tsuki. The elders and the children can see her for the sweet flower she is. However, the adults can not. They think of her as an abomination to this world and treat her as if she were a demon; always telling their children to stay away and constantly warning the elders that she is a bad omen. They're all so blinded by the fear and hatred they have for her...such foul, rotten people they are..." explained the old woman; her voice turning bitter

"Demo...why?! Why do they treat her as such?!" demanded Lee some more

Cherry looked at the old woman; she nodded

"Because she is special...gomenasai, but that is all I can tell you..." she told him

Lee stared down at the table; they judged her because she was different?

"_That is...that is..."_ thought Lee; his blood boiling with fury

His grip on his cup became tighter and tighter as he thought. After a very short period of time his grip became too much for the cup and it finally shattered in his hand

"Oh my!" gasped the old woman

"L-Lee-san! Are you alright?!" asked Tenten; almost shouting

She relaxed slightly when she saw he wasn't bleeding, but was still worried. They all stared at him

"Despicable..." he said; finishing his thought

"N-Nani?" asked Tenten

"Poor Tsuki-san...she's probably out there all alone right now..." said Lee; staring at Cherry

He shot his head up and over towards Gai

"Gai-sensei! We must search for her and bring her back safely! Please!" begged Lee; his eyes pleading

Cherry's ears perked up and she looked at him

"Lee..." responded Gai quietly

"Hmph, I'm afraid we can not do that," said Neji

Lee jerked his head at him; his obsidian eyes glaring

"Why not?!" he yelled

"Because that is not the reason why we came to Kumogakure. Need I remind you, Lee-san, that we still have a mission to complete. And finding Tsuki is not apart of it, so therefore it is none of our concern," stated Neji

"But we can not just simply ignore the fact that she is missing!" retorted Lee

"We can and we shall. I will not have this mission failed because you wish to find some cloud girl," retorted Neji right back

"Demo..." started Lee

"Mou ii yo! My patience is already thin, do not push me. We will do what we came here to do. Nothing more, nothing less," scolded Neji

"Lee-san...he's right. We can't afford to waste time looking for Tsuki," agreed Tenten; although she wanted to search for Tsuki just as badly as Lee

"Gomen Lee, but we have no other choice..." joined Gai; which he immediately regretted when he saw Lee's reaction

Lee was speechless; even his beloved Gai-sensei agreed with Neji

"So, what will it be? Are you still going to argue or do you understand now?" asked Neji

Lee's expression saddened heavily; his head sunk

"....wakarimashita...." he answered dully

"Good," said Neji

Cherry lowered ears her; feeling foolish now. Of course, she should've known better. Ninja from other lands never came to Kumogakure unless on strict business. How could she have been so selfish? As she sunk deeper into Lee's arms, the old woman got up and hurried into the kitchen; returning a minute later with a rag

"Oh please, let me get that," suggested Lee

The old woman nodded after some hesitation

"Arigato young man," she said

"It is nothing really," said Lee

The old woman handed him the rag and he began cleaning up the tea from the table

"Gomenasai, you didn't need to be in the middle of this," said Gai to old woman

"No no, it is alright. I should be the one apologizing, you all are obviously here for something important and I was just blabbing away. Forgive me," she said

"Iie, not at all," countered Tenten

"You were merely answering our questions. You don't need to apologize for anything," said Neji

"Even so, perhaps there is something that I can maybe help you with?" asked the old woman

There was a slight pause

"Actually, yes there is. We need information about what's going in Kumogakure. If you know or have heard anything we would really appreciate it if you told us," explained Neji

"Hmm, I'm afraid I have nothing for you. The villagers are never informed about anything unless it's necessary," the old woman told him

"I see, have you seen any other Leaf ninja in the past month?" he asked

"Why yes I have, and they all came here asking the exact same thing," the old woman answered

"Oh really? Do you remember when you last saw each of them?" questioned Neji some more

"Lets see....I last saw each of them going into the forest. It was to gather more information I believe," she answered some more

"The forest, I see. Arigato, you've been a great help," said Neji; bowing to her

"It was no trouble at all dearie," she said

Lee finished wiping up the tea, then he gathered every piece of the cup he could find and placed them all on the rag; tying it up

"Finished," he said

"Nice job, I'll just take that and throw it away," the old woman told him

Lee nodded and handed her the tied rag

"Gai-sensei, Tenten-san, Lee-san, we should be going now," stated Neji

"Hai," said Gai and Tenten simultaneously

They both stood up

"Come on Lee-san," said Tenten

"Hai..." said Lee; a little dryly

He stood up and set Cherry down; rubbing her head one more time

"Wait a minute, do you all have a place to stay? It's quite dark out there now," said the old woman; concerned about the youngsters

"No, but we have enough money to get a hotel room-" started Neji

"Oh no child! Those hotels charge way too much! You all can stay here instead. I come from a big family so I've got plenty of rooms. Besides, you all must be hungry," interrupted the old woman

The sound of growling could be heard then, and it was coming Gai and Lee's stomachs. The old woman smiled and Tenten sighed

"Seriously you guys? You should've eaten before we left," she told them

Another growling sound was heard; this time coming from Tenten herself. She blushed and scratched the back of her head

"Heh heh heh..." she chuckled

"Good grief, you all are hopeless. Your offer is very generous, we kindly accept it," said Neji to the old woman

Cherry wagged her tail at the sound of this

"Ah splendid! Please make yourselves right at home! Oh! Where are my manners? We've been chatting this whole time and I have yet to introduce myself. How silly of me, my name is Kana Shinjimoto," she replied with happiness

"Pleased to meet you Kana! I'm Might Gai! Also known as the Beautiful Azure Beast!" claimed Gai; giving her the one and only 'nice guy' pose

She giggled and blushed

"Well aren't you a nice, young man?" she said; a hint of flirt in her voice

Neji and Tenten both turned slightly green in their faces; judging Kana's taste in men

"Why thank you Kana! And these three youthful Genin are my students! Hyuga Neji..." started Gai; gloating

Neji bowed without saying a word

"Tenten..." continued Gai (The show never mentions her last name, its always just Tenten)

"How do you do?" she said; bowing just like Neji

"And last but most certainly not least! Rock Lee!" finished Gai; giving a bit more energy when saying Lee's name

"It is a pleasure," said Lee; also bowing

"Well, it's certainly nice to be acquaintances with you all. Why don't you all have another seat and I'll serve some dinner. I made my famous stew surprise," said Kana; heading into the kitchen

"Hai! Arigato!" said Gai as they all took their seats again; Cherry jumping back into Lee's arms

xxxxx a few hours later: 11:47 PM xxxxx

Everyone was now fast asleep; deep within the dream realm. After dinner they all pitched in with the cleanup and were each given their own room to spend the night in. Kana even gave them pajamas to sleep in and put all their clothes in the washer. So now here they all were, but suddenly there was a disturbance within Lee's room; he began tossing and turning in his sleep

"Nnngh...argh..." he mumbled; a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face

In his dream he was completely shrouded by darkness; no matter where he looked

"Where...where am I?" he asked himself

There was suddenly a loud shriek; it startled Lee to death

"Please! Help me! Someone! Anyone!" screamed a voice; a girl's voice

Lee swirled his head around; trying to find the source of the cry. But it was hopeless, he still couldn't see a thing

"Help me! Please help me!" the girl screamed again

"Ah! I-I'm coming! Just hold on!" shouted Lee to the darkness

He began running forward; not sure where the voice was coming from. But someone was in trouble; he couldn't just sit there. In fact he refused to just sit there, so he prayed to Kami that he was going in the right direction and kept running. After a short while the screaming stop; quickening his pace. Finally he stopped once he spotting something. It was half a mile away, and since his eyes were adjusted to the darkness he managed to make out a few things about it. One, it wasn't an 'it' at all actually, 'she' was a girl. Although he couldn't see her face, her body shape and her 'unmentionables' told him everything. Two, she was lying down; holding herself tight. And three, her wrists and ankles were chained to the ground. Lee bet his life that she was the one who was screaming for help. The girl saw him and sat up

"P-Please..." she said; her voice hoarse from her screaming

She reached out to him; the chain limiting how far her hand could go

"Help me..." she pleaded

Something appeared behind her then; it was another figure. This time a man, and like the girl he couldn't see his face. But he saw something else that made his eyes widened in fear. He was holding a kunai, already covered in blood

"Look out!" shouted Lee; dashing forward

The man raised the kunai over his head; getting ready to slay the girl

"Stop!" shouted Lee once more

He felt a hand grab him at that moment; stopping him dead in his tracks. He spun his head around to see who it was; it was Neji

"N-Neji-kun?! What are you-" gasped Lee

"Stop right there," interrupted Neji

"But she is about to die! I can not-" started Lee

"I told you she was none of our concern, leave her be Lee-san," interrupted Neji again

"Nani?! How can you ask such a thing?!" argued Lee; he began to struggle against Neji's hold, "Let me go!" he shouted at him

But the Hyuga would not release him; he looked forward hoping the girl was still alive. Only to find blood being slashed into the air, along with one last scream before the girl collapsed onto the ground; dead. Lee's eyes dilated at the sight; the blood bright with red and flowing down towards him. Neji finally let go of him and he collapsed onto his hands and knees

"_I was too late..."_ he thought; cursing himself for failing to save her

His hands balled up into fists and he shut his eyes tight

"Iie!!!" he yelled

Suddenly his eyes flew open and he sat up fast. He was breathing heavily and his face was covered in sweat

"It was...just a nightmare..?" he whispered

He buried his face in his hands

"Ugh..." he groaned; he wasn't getting back to sleep anytime soon

He heard a whimper sound and turned to his left; Cherry was wide awake and her face filled with worry as she stared at him

"Gomen Cherry-san, I woke you up. Guess it was a bad choice for you to sleep with me," said Lee in an apologetic tone

She walked over and licked his face, then sat on his lap; he rubbed her head and sighed

"Oh Cherry-san, what should I do? I can not rest unless I know Tsuki-san is safe and sound, but Neji-kun..." he said to her

His nightmare came back to him in a flash. The image of Tsuki's body tortured his mind; could he really let that happen? Yes, she was none of his concern. And yes, he didn't even know her. But to let her meet such a horrible ending? And for it only to be returned with wicked smiles from the villagers. He could hear them now, laughing at her lifeless corpse once they discovered it. And the thought of what they could do with it afterwards....no, he wouldn't let them. He refused to give them the satisfaction. And he refused to let an innocent life be slaughtered like that, or worse

"That does it..." he said

Cherry looked at him; he returned her gaze with a determined expression on his face

"I'm going to search...no....I'm going to find Tsuki and bring her back safely," he said

Cherry straightened her ears and stared at him; he smiled at her

"Excuse me Cherry-san," he said as he moved her aside and got out of the bed

He left the room and tip-toed his way into the wash room

"I'm surprised I didn't wake anyone else up, these walls must be incredibly thick," he whispered to himself

He grabbed his jumpsuit and his legwarmers out of the washer; they were wet but he didn't care

"They will be dry in no time after running for a few minutes," he told himself

"Lee-san...what are you doing up so late?" asked a familiar and also very tired voice

Lee froze up and turned his head around. Tenten was standing in the door frame in her pink nightgown; rubbing her eyes

"Oh! Tenten-chan! Did I wake you? Gomen, I was just...putting the clothes in the dryer..." lied Lee; he hated fibbing to his friends, but it was for a good cause

Tenten paused

"Ok then...oyasumi..." she replied lazily

Then she yawned and shuffled her way over back to her room; falling back asleep in an instant. Lee let out a sigh of relief

"_That was close..."_ he thought

He grabbed all the other clothes from inside the washer and put them in the dryer. Then he changed into his normal attire and placed the pajamas on top of the washer

"Arigato Kana-sama," he whispered as left the wash room

He stopped when he saw Cherry sitting by the front door; ready and waiting. She gave him a quiet yip and wagged her tail. He smiled

"You want to accompany me I suppose?" he asked her

She gave another quiet yip

"I shall take that as a yes," said Lee; heading out the door

Cherry ran out a couple of feet ahead of Lee

"I see you want to lead, alright then! Let's go!" he said; closing the door and following Cherry, _"Please hang in there Tsuki-san! I am coming for you! I may not know where you are, and how long it will take to find you, but I will rescue you! It's a promise!"_ he thought right after

And with that they began traveling through the forest; zipping past the trees towards their destination. Meanwhile, back over in the underground base, Tsuki was imprisoned inside a cell; curled up in the far corner. Her clothing was torn and she was covered in dirt; but she wasn't injured. She hadn't eaten in over a month and would've been dead already if it wasn't for her ability. Suddenly she heard shouting; she looked up to find the man who captured her walking past her cell. He was dragging another man right behind him; he was tied and he struggled against the hold on him

"No! Please! Don't kill me! I don't wanna die! Please!" he begged; bucking wildly in a desperate attempt to get away

But it was no use, and so the man began crying and praying to Kami above. Tsuki's eyes widened as fear drilled into her heart; making it pound faster. She hid her face and covered her ears; tears falling down her face like waterfalls. She began trembling as she pictured herself being next in line for death

"_No no no...oh Kami please! If this is some horrible nightmare, then just let it end already! I beg of you!"_ she thought as she continued to cry

Little did she know; her miracle was on its way

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And that concludes the third chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Also, my senpai (beta reader) didn't spot any grammatical errors, and I didn't either. But if you somehow do, please let me know! So until next time! Sayonara!


	5. Chapter 4

Hey everybody! Sorry for disappearing like that, but since I was in school I had to make that my top priority. Luckily, i graduated this month and now I have a lot more free time on my hands =D which means I'll be working on my story WAAAAYYYY more often. Now as for the chapter, I'm gonna say this right now. It's not very long, and I tried to add as much as I could. To be honest this chapter was kind of awkward for me since not much is happening at the moment. I hope you won't be too disappointed, and I'm really sorry about this. I promise the next chapter will be better, and I'll strive to make it the same length (or at least half the length) as the previous chapter. Now with that said, time for some shout outs!

To **UnagiKeki**: Thank you SOOOOO much! I'm so glad you liked it! And the fanart was absolutely wonderful =D Lee and Cherry were so kawaii! X3

To **SakuraKiss234**: I'm glad you liked it! Sorry it took so long to update, thank you for the fav!

To **Tenshi Namikaze**: Supportive as always sensei! I'm glad you're my beta reader X3

To **Twistergirl14**: Thank you for the fav =)

And that's it! Now on with the chapter!

Disclaimer - **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

* * *

Back at Kana's house, it was very late and everyone was still sleeping; unaware of Lee and Cherry's brave venture into the forest. Suddenly Tenten began to stir around in her sleep until her eyes flickered open for the second time that night. She sat up and gave a great big yawn. Then she got out of bed and trudged along towards the bathroom; she stopped when she noticed that Lee's door was wide open

"Eh?" she said; heading towards his room now instead, "That's strange, why did he leave it open like that?" she asked out loud

She looked inside from the doorway, but she didn't see him anywhere. She also couldn't spot Cherry

"_Kikai (weird)...maybe they're in the living room..."_ she thought

She walked the down the hall and peeked into the living room; she became a little puzzled when she didn't see them in there either

"_Nani? Where did they go? Hmm, maybe they're in the kitchen..."_ she thought

She took a look inside the kitchen, but they weren't there either

"_Maybe they're outside..."_ she thought some more

She opened up the front door and took a look around; there was still no sign of them

"_Maybe they're in the bathroom..."_ she thought even more

She paused for a minute; in the bathroom...together? She gave herself a light knock on the head

"Iie, what am I thinking? There's no way that's possible. With that being said, I would've seen Cherry-san waiting outside the door anyway. So that leaves one place to check..." she told herself

And so she closed the door and went into the laundry room; she turned on the light. But it was the same result; no Lee or Cherry anywhere to be seen. However, she did spot something else that was rather peculiar

"Hm? What's this?" she wondered out loud

She walked up to the washer and grabbed the pajamas that Lee left neatly folded on top

"Hang on a sec, these are Lee's pajamas...demo...why are they here?" she asked herself

She thought about it for minute. After a bit of pondering she got a hunch as to why they were there. As well as to why she couldn't find either of them. This made her panic some

"D-Don't tell me he..." she began to say

She then stopped herself mid-sentence and shook her head. She calmed herself; positive that Lee had just taken Cherry on a walk through the village

"_Demo...wouldn't I have seen them?"_ she questioned within her mind; remembering that she had previously checked outside

After a bit of thinking, she just shrugged it off

"Guess they must be really far down the path. Yea, I'm sure of it," she said to herself

With that set in her mind she placed Lee's pajamas back down on top of the washer, clicked off the light and went back into her room. She settled back into her bed and, after a few seconds, returned to the dream realm. At this very same moment, Cherry and Lee had just arrived at the waterfall. Cherry looked at him and barked; signaling that her master was here. Lee looked at the waterfall for a minute, then down to the small river that it was pouring into. He seemed a little surprised as he stared at it

"Unbelievable..." he whispered

Cherry thought that he said that because of the fact that her master had gone missing for months behind a mere waterfall. However, what he said next proved her wrong...very wrong. He let out a heavy sigh and gave her a disapproving look

"Cherry-san, this is no time to go for a swim. Perhaps after we find your owner we can go then. But for now, I need you to please stop fooling around and take me to Tsuki-san," he told her in a slightly scolding tone

Cherry's tail dropped straight to the ground and she stared at him; it was clear that the signal she sent didn't reach him. Since that was the case, she'd just have to show him what she meant. She stepped into the river and began to make her way over to the waterfall. Shock struck Lee's face as he watched her for about half a second before going in after her

"Cherry-san! Just what do you think you are doing?" he asked in a serious tone

She didn't respond; she just kept swimming along. Lee continued to pursue her

"Cherry-san! Matte! We do not have time for this! We need to locate your-"

He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw what she did next. She went straight past the waterfall and disappeared. Wait, straight past the waterfall? That didn't seem right. How was that possible? Lee blinked a few times; amazed and somewhat speechless

"Nani? How did she...?" he trailed off

Cherry poked her head back out of the waterfall and barked at him before disappearing again. Lee stood there for a second, then eventually got the message and proceeded towards her. He hesitated, but then just took a deep breath, closed his eyes and walked past the waterfall. Once on the other side his eyes flew open and he shivered; being as how the temperature suddenly dropped a few degrees. He made a small gasp at the dimly lit torches on the walls

"Torches? What are those doing here?" he asked himself

He then gazed down into the tunnel

"Is...someone down there?" he wondered out loud

Cherry responded with a quiet yip; he looked at her. And that's when it dawned on him

"Your owner, she is..?" he started to ask

Cherry wagged her tail and gave him another quiet yip; he finally understood

"Oh, I see. It all makes sense now," he said

He looked back towards the dark tunnel. A look of determination appeared on his face

"Wakarimashita! Cherry-san, ikou (lets go)!" he said

He began running down the tunnel with an optimistic Cherry right by his side. It wouldn't be long now until her master was back at home safe and sound like before

"_Hang in there just a little longer Tsuki-san! I am almost there!"_ thought Lee

He suddenly felt a wave of adrenaline wash over his body and his pace quickened significantly. Luckily Cherry was able to keep up. After all, Lee wasn't the only one who was totally pumped and flowing with energy. But why wouldn't she be? Her master was finally going to be rescued after spending a dreadful number months in an underground prison. That is, if her master was still there to even be rescued...

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And that's it for this chapter. Again, sorry for it being so short. Thank you for reading it anyway, you're so awesome! Oh! And before I forget, I've got an announcement! Me and **Tenshi Namikaze **are going to be working on a new fanfic that we came up with. Yes, we're doing a dual fanfic, and it's a crossover of Naruto and Soul Eater. So if you're interested in reading it and you want more details, it'll be posted on both of our accounts. There's a prologue so it'll tell you everything you need to know. That's all I have to say! Catch you guys later! PandaChick out!


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